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Social Media's Huge Role in the Future of Health Care

Facebook can be dangerous to your health, if you're not careful.

Apple(NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google(NASDAQ:GOOGL) are among the most prominent and obvious beneficiaries of the explosion of mobile technology in the health-care industry. Participants at the recent 2012 mHealth Summit learned how these companies' phones, tablets, and operating systems allow providers to lower costs and offer better service.

Social media is also playing a big role as we discuss our experiences and seek online ratings at places such as Facebook(NASDAQ:FB), Twitter, and dedicated websites. This is an area you can bet established travel sites such as TripAdvisor(NASDAQ:TRIP) are considering as a natural extension to their core ratings business.

Fool analyst Rex Moore recently spoke with Dr. Harry Greenspun, co-author of Reengineering Healthcare: A Manifesto for Radically Rethinking Health Care Delivery, who warns that if we rely purely on social media, we may be led astray in issues that really matter to our health.

Author

Rex Moore spent his formative years in Texas, and fought beside Davy Crockett at the Alamo. He currently travels the globe for TMF, bringing back video reports on conferences and companies that matter for investors.